Understanding the impact of M ion variation on physical properties of Pr-based mixed metal oxides PrCr0.5M0.5O3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co and Ga)

Disordered mixed metal oxides with tailored magnetic and dielectric properties represent a promising class of multifunctional materials with potential technological applications. Here, we report the comparative investigations of the structural, magnetic, dielectric, and magnetodielectric properties of disordered PrCr0.5M0.5O3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co and Ga) compounds. All these compounds crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with the centrosymmetric space group Pbnm. DC and AC- susceptibility measurements reveal distinct magnetic transitions governed by Cr-O-Cr, M/Cr-O-Cr/M and Pr-O-Cr/M superexchange interactions, with the magnetic behaviour strongly influenced by the nature of the isovalent M cation. The scaling analysis of magnetic entropy change (∆SM) further determines the order of magnetic transitions. All compounds exhibit distinct magnetic responses depending on the M-site substitution; notably, PrCr0.5Mn0.5O3 shows a significant magnetocaloric effect, while PrCr0.5Co0.5O3 exhibits an exchange bias effect near the magnetic ordering temperature. Dielectric anomalies observed near magnetic transitions indicate magnetodielectric coupling in compounds containing magnetic M cations. These results demonstrate that tuning B-site cation disorder and magnetic interactions in non-polar oxides provides an effective route to multifunctionality and emergent magnetic phenomena.